*
Islamic leader urges Muslims to visit Temple Mount
The head of the world's largest Islamic organization on Monday paid a
rare visit to Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque, urging Muslims to follow suit
and come to the city in a bid to strengthen Palestinian claims to the
holy site.

*
The 'forever war' comes to Paris
The slaughter of the satirists in Paris on Wednesday, executed in the
name of radical Islam, is but one scene in the nightmarish reality that
Western intelligence officers had been dreading since the war in Syria
became a jihadi lodestone.

*
The Arab oil era is over
The most dramatic news in 2014 almost went unnoticed: The United States
lifted the restrictions on American oil exports, and as of the first day
of the new year it has begun exporting oil to the world.